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Cocaine & Crack: What Parents Need to Know
| What It Is: |
Cocaine is a white powder that comes from the dried leaves of the coca plant, which
is found in South America. Crack cocaine is a form of the drug that gives a very quick,
intense high.
Crack is made by cooking cocaine powder with baking soda, then breaking it
into small pieces called rocks. It got its name because it crackles when it is heated
and smoked.
Crack cocaine looks like white or tan pellets (sort of like gerbil or dry cat food).
Both cocaine and crack are very addictive — and very, very dangerous.
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| Sometimes Called: |
coke, rock, snow, blow, white, toot, nose candy, base, flake, powder,
basa, smack |
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| How It's Used: |
Cocaine is inhaled or snorted through the nose or injected into a vein. Crack is
smoked in a pipe.
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| What It Does: |
Cocaine is a stimulant, which means that it produces a fast, intense feeling of
power and energy. Then it wears off (crack wears off very quickly) and the user feels
depressed and nervous and craves more of the drug to feel good again.
Cocaine is so addictive that someone can get hooked after trying it just once.
Snorting cocaine can damage the septum between the nostrils, causing a hole
in the middle of the nose.
Cocaine makes the heart beat faster and blood pressure and body temperature go
up. It also can make the heart beat abnormally. Cocaine is so dangerous that using
it just once can cause a heart attack, stroke, or even death.
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